Social Media's Learning Outcomes within Writing Instruction in the EFL Classroom: Exploring, Implementing and Analyzing Storify

Abstract

Research has frequently demonstrated the positive impact of Web 2.0 tools on writing education in foreign-language classrooms. However there is limited research on the use of social media (e.g. Facebook) in teaching practices in general, and writing instruction in second-language teaching in particular. This paper presents an experiment to examine the effectiveness of social media on writing activities within the EFL classroom. We focused on Storify, which stands out amongst social media, as it collects content from existing multiple social networks, and creates the possibility to write your own memorable story by adding text. Furthermore, it is a community of practice with authentic learning material. A specific lesson (2 x 50min) was designed which benefited from the social media potential of Storify. The lesson was taught to 5 different classes (n=80), after which a survey was given to the students to detect their attitude towards this new teaching tool. The products of the students were analysed qualitatively to explore new possibilities in writing instruction. Finally, a focus group of teachers was organized. Results indicate that using social media in EFL writing instructions affects students’ learning process as it enhances student involvement. Students feel they can improve their writing performance, thus improving learning outcome. Additionally students believe Storify to be useful in EFL practices.